Nick’s mother has signed him up for baseball. Nick, who has baseball on the brain, is excited when Friday comes because it’s his first day of practice. Nick and his teammates have a busy day filled with physical and mental activity that encourages fun and bolsters team spirit.
NICK’S VERY FIRST DAY OF BASEBALL does offer some insights to baseball, using a baseball mascot named Billy Ball to offer some informational snippets along the way, and some discussion about the very basic principles of baseball.
This book serves not only a basic introduction to baseball, but also children’s sports in general, with its positive spin on fitness, playing together and being a team.
There are some technical and organizational issues that detract from the book’s potential effectiveness. While the narrative offers information about what a glove is used for and appears to be targeted towards new baseball players ages three to six years of age; there is a page quiz included in the book where few of the answers can actually be derived from the narrative itself. This suggests the quiz might be more suitable for children who are already familiar with baseball.
The illustrations generally capture the positive atmosphere associated with the coach and the team, conveying the children’s enthusiasm; however on some pages, the brown font competes with the illustrations. Also, while the diversity of the team made up of boys and girls of numerous ethnicities is to be commended, adults reading to small children might regard the depiction of the Asian girl with stereotypically-slanted eyes to be outdated.
Using mascot Billy Ball to introduce activities in the book adds a dynamic activity-book-feel to the story that calls for reader interaction; however one of the answers to an activity appears in small print on the back cover and references page numbers – and the book pages are not numbered.
Despite these issues, Nick’s enthusiasm for the game shines through the illustrations and the short story’s sweet ending rings true.
NICK’S FIRST DAY OF BASEBALL offers children a positive and encouraging approach towards sports and trying something new.
~IndieReader.